Structure of layout of parts around radiator

ABSTRACT

A structure of layout of parts around a radiator reducing the effects of heat due to the radiator, that is, a structure of layout of parts around a radiator provided with a radiator provided with an inflow part and an outflow part of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine arranged at a rear of the radiator, an exhaust pipe arranged at a rear side of the engine, and an intake duct connected with the engine and having an intake port introducing outside air, the intake duct being arranged at a side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part, whereby the ambient temperature of the intake duct can be reduced and the temperature of the engine intake air can be reduced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a structure of layout of parts around a radiator for reducing the effects of heat due to back wind from the radiator.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the past, as this type of structure of layout of parts around a radiator, it has been known to provide an air guide plate 26 so as to extend a fan surround cowl of the radiator to the vehicle rear so as to prevent high temperature back wind passing through the radiator from sneaking around to the intake port side of an intake duct (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. 5-1634).

However, in the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. 5-1634, unless newly providing an air guide plate, it is not possible to reduce the rise in the engine intake temperature caused by the high temperature back wind and prevent the drop in the engine output and further there were problems such as the rise in cost due to the increase in parts and the increase in the assembly work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a structure of layout of parts around a radiator reducing the effect of heat due to the radiator by a unique layout of parts surrounding the radiator.

To achieve the above object, the following technical means are employed. According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a structure of layout of parts around a radiator specifying a positional relationship between a radiator arranged in an engine compartment (100) of a vehicle and parts arranged around the radiator, provided with a radiator (10, 10A) provided with an inflow part (2) and an outflow part (3) of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine (20) arranged at a rear of the radiator, an exhaust pipe (21) arranged at a rear side of the engine, and an intake duct (22) connected with the engine and having an intake port (23) introducing outside air, the intake duct (22) being arranged at a side closer to the outflow part (3) than the inflow part (2).

According to the first aspect of the invention, by arranging the intake duct at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part, the intake duct is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low due to being passed through the radiator, the ambient temperature of the intake duct can be reduced, the temperature of the engine intake air can be reduced, and the drop in engine output due to the effect of heat from the back wind of the radiator can be prevented. Further, by arranging the exhaust pipe at the rear side of the engine, the exhaust pipe and the intake duct extending to the front side are separated in their positional relationship, so the intake air of the engine becomes less easy to be affected by the heat due to the exhaust temperature and drop in engine output can be prevented.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a structure of layout of parts around a radiator specifying a positional relationship between a radiator arranged in an engine compartment (100) of a vehicle and parts arranged around the radiator, provided with a radiator (10, 10A) provided with an inflow part (2) and an outflow part (3) of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine (30) arranged at a rear of the radiator, an exhaust pipe (31) arranged at a bottom side of the engine, and an intake duct (32) connected with the engine at a part above its center and having an intake port (33) introducing outside air, the intake duct (32) being arranged at a side closer to the outflow part (3) than the inflow part (2).

According to the second aspect of the invention, by arranging the intake duct at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part, the intake duct is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low due to being passed through the radiator, the ambient temperature of the intake duct can be reduced, the temperature of the engine intake air can be reduced, and the drop in engine output due to the effect of heat from the back wind of the radiator can be prevented. Further, by arranging the exhaust pipe at the bottom side of the engine, the exhaust pipe and the intake duct are separated in their positional relationship, so the intake air of the engine becomes less easy to be affected by the heat due to the exhaust temperature and the drop in engine output can be prevented.

The third aspect of the invention provides the first aspect of the invention wherein the intake port (23, 33) of the intake duct (22, 32) is arranged at above the radiator (10, 10A) at a side closer to the outflow part (3) than the inflow part (2).

According to the third aspect of the invention, by arranging the intake port of the intake duct above the radiator and at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part, the intake duct is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low due to being passed through the radiator, the ambient temperature of the intake duct can be reduced, the rise in the intake air temperature due to the effect of heat from the back wind of the radiator can be reduced, and the drop in engine output can be prevented.

The fourth aspect of the invention provides the first aspect of the invention wherein a battery (40) for supplying power to an electrical system of the vehicle is arranged at a side closer to the outflow part (3) than the inflow part (2).

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, by arranging the battery at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low due to being passed through the radiator, the rise in the ambient temperature of the battery can be reduced. Further, even without providing a battery cover or other member, the rise in temperature of the battery can be reduced. The number of parts can be reduced as well. Incidentally, the reference numerals in parentheses after the above means are examples showing the correspondence with the specific means described in the later explained embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be more fully understood from the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention set forth below together with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the schematic configuration of a structure of layout of parts around a radiator in a first and second embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the schematic configuration of a structure of layout of parts around a radiator in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the schematic configuration of a structure of layout of parts around a radiator in the second embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the schematic configuration of a structure of layout of parts around a radiator in another embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Below, a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained using FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of layout of parts around a radiator according to the present embodiment and a later explained second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the configuration showing the structure of layout of parts around a radiator of the present embodiment as seen from a plan view and shows the relative arrangement of the parts when viewing the engine compartment from above in the state when a hood at the front of the vehicle is opened.

The radiator 10 arranged at the front of the engine compartment 100 of the vehicle is a heat exchanger for cooling the cooling water of an automobile engine. It has a plurality of tubes 1 in which a heat exchange medium (water) exchanging heat with the air flowing in the surroundings flows. The tubes 1 are arranged so that they extend with their longitudinal directions in the substantially horizontal direction. Further, the radiator has a box shaped core part comprised of a plurality of these tubes 1 stacked in the substantially vertical direction. This core part is provided with an inflow tank 4 and an outflow tank 5 at its two sides in the substantially horizontal direction. First end sides of the tubes 1 are communicated with the inside of the inflow tank 4, while the other end sides are communicated with the inside of the outflow tank 5, whereby a crossflow type radiator 10 where the flow direction of the cooling water is the substantially horizontal direction is configured. That is, the cooling water from the engine 20 enters the inside of the inflow tank 4 from the inflow port 2, flows through the plurality of tubes 1 configuring the core part from the right to the left in the FIG. 1, and flows out to the inside of the outflow tank 5. The cooling water collected inside the outflow tank 5 flows out from the outflow port 3 and returns to the engine 20.

At the front side of the radiator 10, a condenser 50 is provided using the cooling air to cool a refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle to condense and liquefy it. At the rear side of the radiator 10, electric fans 7 and 9 are arranged aligned in the substantially horizontal direction.

The electric fans 7 and 9 have fan surround cowls having orifice functions and electric motors 6, 8. The supply of power to the electric motors 6 and 8 is controlled by a not shown control system. The electric fans 7 and 9 are driven so as to draw in outside air from the front grille of the vehicle to the engine 20 and forcibly create cooling air passing through the radiator 10 and condenser 50. The blades of the electric fans 7 and 9 rotate around shafts turned by the electric motors 6 and 8. The air in the wind tunnel shaped spaces defined by the fan surround cowls integrally fixed to the radiator 10 and the rear surface of the core part of the radiator 10 is converted to a negative pressure state by the axial flow due to the rotation of the electric fans 7 and 9 whereby outside air is blown from the grille at the front of the vehicle to the inside of the engine compartment 100. The engine 20 is arranged behind the radiator 10 formed integrally with the electric fans 7 and 9.

At the rear side of this engine 20, an exhaust pipe 21 is arranged, so a high temperature exhaust flow is formed at the rear of the engine 20. The intake duct 22 extending to the front so as to move away from this exhaust pipe 21 is lifted upward from the top of the engine 20. In that state, it is laid so as to pass over the radiator 10 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. At the front part of the intake duct 22, an intake port 23 opening toward the front of the vehicle is provided. This is arranged above the radiator 10 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. This intake port 23 is positioned above the radiator 10 or condenser 50 or above the radiator 10 or condenser 50 and at the front. The intake port 23 is formed with an opening area larger than the opening area of the part where the intake duct 22 is connected to the engine 20 so as to reduce the inlet resistance of the air taken into the intake duct 22.

The intake duct 22 is a pipe of a tube shape provided with an intake port 23 opening at the front and guiding intake air into the combustion chambers of the engine 20. This intake air is generally warmed in the engine compartment 100. If this temperature becomes high, the density of the air drops, the amount of oxygen in the air falls, and the filling efficiency of the engine 20 falls. If this happens, the output of the engine 20 drops and knocking occurs. According to the structure of layout of parts around the radiator of the present invention, this phenomenon can be prevented.

In the present invention, “the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part” means the entire region at the side closer to the outflow part from the intermediate part between the inflow part and outflow part. Further, this inflow part and outflow part may be the parts corresponding to the inlet and outlet of the radiator 10, that is, the inflow port 2 and outflow port 3 shown in FIG. 1, or may be the parts as a whole extending in the substantially vertical direction of the two sides of the radiator 10, that is, the inflow tank 4 and the outflow tank 5. Further, arranging the intake duct 22 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part and further near the outflow port 3 and the outflow tank 5, for example, above the same, in the configuration is more preferable for reducing the ambient temperature of the intake duct 22.

Further, the battery 40 supplying power to the electrical system of the vehicle, like the intake duct 22, is also arranged at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part in the configuration. Further, arranging the battery 40 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part and further near the outflow port 3 and outflow tank 5, for example, above the same, in the configuration is more preferable for reducing the ambient temperature of the battery 40 and preventing deterioration due to heat.

In the radiator 10, the cooling water drops in its temperature from the upstream side toward the downstream side due to the heat exchange between the cooling water and the cooling air. Similarly, the cooling air heat exchanged with the cooling water, that is, the back wind of the radiator, becomes lower in temperature in the air passing through the side of the radiator closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. From this as well, the layout of the parts around the radiator of the present embodiment is effective.

In this way, one feature of the structure of layout of parts around a radiator of the present embodiment is the provision of a radiator 10 provided with an inflow part and an outflow part 3 of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine 20 arranged at a rear of the radiator 10, an exhaust pipe 21 arranged at a rear side of the engine 20, and an intake duct 22 connected with the engine 20 and having an intake port 23 introducing outside air, the intake duct 22 being arranged at a side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. According to this configuration, the intake duct 22 is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low due to being passed through the radiator 10, the ambient temperature of the intake duct 22 can be reduced, and the temperature of the engine intake air can be reduced. Further, the exhaust pipe 21 and the intake duct 22 extending to the front side are separated in their positional relationship, so the intake air of the engine 20 becomes less easy to be affected by the heat due to the exhaust temperature and the drop in engine output can be prevented. From the above, it is possible to avoid having the parts surrounding the radiator 10 be routinely exposed to harsh operating conditions, prevent the parts from being degraded in durability, and in turn keep the lifetime of the vehicle from being shortened.

Further, another feature is that the intake port 23 of the intake duct 22 is arranged above the radiator 10 at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. If employing this configuration, the intake port 23 is arranged at the outflow part 3 side where the temperature of the air is low having been passed through the radiator 10 and the rise in the intake air temperature due to the effects of heat from the back wind of the radiator 10 can be reduced.

Further, another feature is that the battery 40 supplying power to the electrical system of the vehicle is arranged at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. If employing this configuration, the battery 40 is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low having been passed through the radiator 10, so the rise in the ambient temperature of the battery 40 can be reduced. Further, even without providing a battery cover or other member, the rise in temperature of the battery 40 can be reduced.

Second Embodiment

Below, a second embodiment will be explained using FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the configuration of the structure of layout of parts around a radiator of the present embodiment as seen from the side.

The present embodiment differs from the structure of layout of parts around a radiator of the first embodiment in the point that the exhaust pipe 31 is provided at the bottom side of the engine 30. Note that among the components of the present embodiment, components given the same reference numerals as the components shown in FIG. 2 are the same. Their detailed explanations will be left to the first embodiment and will be omitted here.

The exhaust pipe 31 is arranged at the bottom side of the engine 30 whereby a high temperature exhaust flow is formed below the engine 30. The intake duct 32 extending from this exhaust pipe 31 across the engine 30 to the front is lifted upward from the top of the engine 30. In that state, it is laid so as to pass over the radiator 10 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. At the front part of the intake duct 32, an intake port 33 opening toward the front of the vehicle is provided. This is arranged above the radiator 10 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. This intake port 33 is positioned above the radiator 10 or condenser 50 or above the radiator 10 or condenser 50 and at the front. The intake port 33 is formed with an opening area larger than the opening area of the part where the intake duct 32 is connected to the engine 30 so as to reduce the inlet resistance of the air taken into the intake duct 32.

In the present embodiment as well, “the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part” means the entire region at the side closer to the outflow part from the intermediate part between the inflow part and outflow part. Further, this inflow part and outflow part may be the parts corresponding to the inlet and outlet of the radiator 10, that is, the inflow port 2 and outflow port 3 shown in FIG. 1, or may be the parts as a whole extending in the substantially vertical direction of the two sides of the radiator 10, that is, the inflow tank 4 and the outflow tank 5. Further, arranging the intake duct 32 at the side of the radiator 10 closer to the outflow part than the inflow part and further near the outflow port 3 and the outflow tank 5, for example, above the same, in the configuration is more preferable for reducing the ambient temperature of the intake duct 32.

In this way, one feature of the structure of layout of parts around the radiator of the present embodiment is the provision of a radiator 10 provided with an inflow part 2 and an outflow part 3 of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine 30 arranged at a rear of the radiator 10, an exhaust pipe 31 arranged at a bottom side of the engine 30, and an intake duct 32 connected with the engine 30 at a part above its center and having an intake port 33 introducing outside air, the intake duct 32 being arranged at a side closer to the outflow part 3 than the inflow part 2. According to this configuration, the intake duct 32 is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low having been passed through the radiator 10 and the ambient temperature of the intake duct 32 can be reduced to reduce the temperature of the engine intake air. Further, the exhaust pipe 31 and the intake duct 32 are arranged separated in positional relationship, so the intake air of the engine 30 is resistant to the effects of heat due to the exhaust temperature. From the above, it is possible to avoid having the parts surrounding the radiator 10 be routinely exposed to harsh operating conditions, prevent the parts from being degraded in durability, and in turn keep the lifetime of the vehicle from being shortened.

Further, another feature is that the intake port 33 of the intake duct 32 is arranged above the radiator 10 at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. If employing this configuration, the intake port 33 is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low having been passed through the radiator 10 and the rise in the intake air temperature due to the effect of the heat from the back wind of the radiator 10 can be reduced.

Further, another feature is that the battery 40 supplying power to the electrical system of the vehicle is arranged at the side closer to the outflow part than the inflow part. If employing this configuration, since the battery 40 is arranged at the outflow part side where the temperature of the air is low having been passed through the radiator 10, the rise in the ambient temperature of the battery 40 can be reduced. Further, even without providing a battery cover or other member, the rise in temperature of the battery 40 can be reduced.

Other Embodiments

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the cooling air passing through the radiator is formed using the electric fans 7 and 9, that is, two fans, in the configuration, but as shown in FIG. 4, it is also possible to use a single electric fan 25 and drive it by the electric motor 24 in the configuration. Even if employing this configuration, the radiator 10A of the present embodiment merely becomes shorter than the above-mentioned radiator 10 in the substantially horizontal direction. Needless to say there is no difference in the relative arrangement of the components and the actions and effects described in the first and second embodiments.

While the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments chosen for the purposes of illustration, it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention. 

1. A structure of layout of parts around a radiator specifying a positional relationship between a radiator arranged in an engine compartment of a vehicle and parts arranged around the radiator, provided with a radiator provided with an inflow part and an outflow part of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine arranged at a rear of said radiator, an exhaust pipe arranged at a rear side of said engine, and an intake duct connected with said engine and having an intake port introducing outside air said intake duct being arranged at a side closer to said outflow part than said inflow part.
 2. A structure of layout of parts around a radiator specifying a positional relationship between a radiator arranged in an engine compartment of a vehicle and parts arranged around the radiator, provided with a radiator provided with an inflow part and an outflow part of a heat exchange medium flowing through the inside at two sides in a substantially horizontal direction, an engine arranged at a rear of said radiator, an exhaust pipe arranged at a bottom side of said engine, and an intake duct connected with said engine at a part above its center and having an intake port introducing outside air, said intake duct being arranged at a side closer to said outflow part than said inflow part.
 3. A structure of layout of parts around a radiator as set forth in claim 1, wherein the intake port of said intake duct is arranged at above said radiator at a side closer to said outflow part than said inflow part.
 4. A structure of layout of parts around a radiator as set forth in claim 1, wherein a battery for supplying power to an electrical system of the vehicle is arranged at a side closer to said outflow part than said inflow part. 